MOVINGD’UNE RIVE TO ÀTHE L’AUTRE FLOW OF THE RIVERDE L’ OISE ActiverSeeing water la vi(ll)e as a autoursource tode dynamise l’eau à -Pontoisethe city(life) of Cergy-

38TH38ÈME ATELIERPARIS REGION INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONALDE MAÎTRISE D’ŒUVRE URBAN URBAINE PLANNINGDE CERGY-PONTOISE WORKSHOP From November 22 to December 8, 2020 Les Ateliers internationaux de maîtrise d’oeuvre urbaine de Cergy-Pontoise

Le Verger, Rue de la Gare 95000 - CERGY Tél : +33 1 34 41 93 91 mail : [email protected] site web : www.ateliers.org

Pilots: Hanaà Msallak Jobbé-Duval, Architect–urbanist Bastien Vernier, Geographer–urbanist / fabmanager

Assistant Pilot: Maud Corcoral, Environmental expert–urbanist

Permanent Team: Christine Lepoittevin, Director Véronique Valenzuela, Project Director Victoire Bayle, Administration–Communications Assistant

[email protected] Contents

Topic presentation Water: Source of inspiration(s) for the city (life) How will the pandemic change the city (life)? Cergy-Pontoise: Opportunity for reinvention(s), terrain for experimentation(s) MOVING A geography of water and a bassin de vie as a model resilient city The Oise Valley TO THE FLOW OF From bassin de vie to bioregion THE RIVER OISE From new town to international cam- pus: The Oise for all SEEING WATER AS A A shared heritage A specific urban morphology SOURCE TO DYNAMISE THE New town yesterday, campus town tomorrow CITY(LIFE) OF CERGY-PONTOISE Collective imagination & converging views 38TH PARIS REGION Water: Balancing risk and well-being A servile nature INTERNATIONAL URBAN Living differently PLANNING WORKSHOP

The workshop in 5 sections

The 38th Paris Region International Urban Planning Workshop aims to examine the social and economic value of water and landscapes in the creation of resilient metropolitan and local urban development. Shaped by the sharp twist and turns of the River Oise, the atypical territory of Cergy-Pontoise represents the ideal breeding ground for drawing the outline of a unique urban experience, a vision of the city of tomorrow.

This workshop is a continuation of the reflections initiated by Les Ateliers and its partners, as explored by the teams and participants during several of the previous workshops:

The Hillsides of Cergy in 1983; The City and Water in 1991; The River, Future of a Territory in 2009; Metropolitan Landscape in 2012, The Plain of Pierrelaye in 2013; the Campus City in 2015; Economic Activity Zones in 2016, Irkutsk in 2017, Ouarzazate 2018, Happy Fringes in 2019 and Southern Greater Paris in 2019. TOPIC PRESENTATION

WATER AND THE CITY: Source of inspiration(s)

eco-neighbourhoods, territorial attractiveness and marketing, as well as in the preservation of natural wetlands or flood risk prevention.How can “green- washing” projects that ignore the essence of a place be avoided?

Such policies act as levers. They accompany the development of territories and largely contribute to their image, dynamism and attractiveness. And, in this case, constitute the basis of an “economic” and productive value stemming from the geography of water. What balance should be struck between the “economic” value and the “common good” View of the Base de Loisirs from the Axe Majeur – D. Chavin, CACP value of a river?

Main rivers and their tributaries are exceptional At a time when questions are being asked about places in the geography of a city. Unfortunately, they the impacts of the health crisis on the design of have long been ignored or relegated to “supportive cities, the strengthening of river navigation and river or productive” functions, whether it be defensive, tourism, the intensification of floods, urban and commercial, logistical or that of waste management. land pressure, as well as the need to de-densify the Now, however, with the meteorological, climatic, city, the long dormant potential of hydrography ecological events and uncertainties of the last is being rekindled. As such, the choice of Cergy- decades, along with the recent health crisis, it is Pontoise as an area of study is all the more relevant. clear that the relationship between the geography of water and its host territory must be reexamined in Thanks to its location between the metropolis and a far more comprehensive manner. What efficient, the Portes du , its geographical particularities active and resilient integration(s) of water can be and its morphological and urban specificities, incorporated into urban strategies, especially as this territory possesses the ideal characteristics ecological, economic, cultural, social and well- to generate and carry out forward-looking urban being vectors? experiments.

Wild, developed or neglected, waterways have always asserted themselves as privileged spaces for socialization, conducive to the expression of multiple collective and individual practices. How can the territory of Cergy- They also possess a wealth of treasures that can be capitalized upon. How can the geography of Pontoise take advantage of its water contribute to the return of practices of unique geographical situation and proximity in the metropolis and a connection prove to be a model resilient city? between the various territorial scales? What new uses can be envisioned for local residents?

Increasingly, the notion of the “water city” is imposing itself in development schemes as part of policies for travel and mobility, the creation of

4 TOPIC PRESENTATION

HOW WILL THE PANDEMIC CHANGE THE CITY (LIFE)? Sources of enquiry the renewed awareness of the fundamental Questioning the role of water and its geographical importance of essential and structural jobs, landscape in the city requires a broader reflection which, as highlighted by the health crisis, must on the notion of the “common good” as well as clearly be revalorized. the levels of reversibility and liveability of our built environment and territories — from basic There has been, for those who had the opportunity housing units to their buildings, their blocks or to do so, the search for refuge and the escape neighbourhoods to their local environments or from dense urban centres to the sanctuary of inhabited territories. the countryside. And then, there were others who suffered from isolation and exclusion, stuck With the COVID-19 crisis, the 2020 Paris in housing incompatible with lockdown measures Region Workshop would be amiss if it were to and lacking means of transportation and/or digital ignore the global experience — both collective and technology. How can this reverse rural exodus synchronous — of lockdown. Marked by changing or “counter-urbanization” be explained? Where dynamics, initiatives and behaviours symptomatic are people turning to for refuge? What new of the failure of our urban systems, the experience urban forms and viable social organizations will has also revealed the regenerative and adaptive there be in the post-COVID-19 city? capacity of our imperfect human societies. What are the impacts of this global pandemic on the There has also beenthe forced slowdown, way we think of, live in and create cities? during which some people are rediscovering a different relationship with time and are seizing There isthe normally hyper-mobile the moment to reinforce bonds with those close to metropolitan population that now finds itself them and to ask themselves questions about society. limited to a less than one-kilometre radius of There are also those who are takingthe newfound movement. Within such as small perimeter, what time to express their passions, viewing this new latitudes are available to pedestrians? Are essential temporality as a promising opportunity. needs and resources truly accessible? And what are the limits in terms of autonomy and self-sufficiency? And finally, there has been the unexpected What does this new urban scale, one reduced to respite for nature to regain its rightful place and the size of a neighbourhood, reveal? express its full majesty. This has been achieved by the clear decrease in pollution. As a result, There is the emergence ofa new organization in addition to the notion of the “right to the city” conducive to telework, distance learning and (so dear to the philosopher and sociologist Henri the continued production of basic necessities, Lefebvre), we are now talking about the “right to as well as the reaffirmation of the importance nature” for all. of digital tools, the strengthening of local food supply chains, the spirit of mutual assistance and neighbourliness. This all comes by questioning the What role(s) can the Oise play in mono-functionality or the difficulty in reversing, transforming or mutualizing public and private the development of a “hygiene facilities and natural or agricultural spaces. city” of the 21st century?

There has also been the birth ofspontaneous initiatives and acts of solidarity, the strengthening of social ties (despite physical distancing), and

4 5 TOPIC PRESENTATION

Beaumont-sur-Oise LE BASSIN DE VIE AN DE CERGY-PONTOISE L’Oise ATTRACTIVE Contexte général Forêt de hydrographie CENTRE PARC NATUREL DU Carnelles Cormeilles- L’Isle-Adam zones inondables BETWEEN en-Vexin VEXIN FRANCAIS massifs forestiers THE CITY AND Forêt de espaces boisés l’Isle-Adam NATURE espaces verts & agricoles La Viosne Auvers-sur-Oise tissu urbain résidentiel

Osny zones d’activités économiques

Méry-sur-Oise Limite Métropole du Grand Paris Sagy Pontoise Cergy Agglomération de Cergy-Pontoise Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône Forêt de Montmorency Transports & Flux

Vauréal Francilienne Domont Taverny A15 Eragny réseau ferré Forêt Jouy-le-Moutier de l’Hautil aérodromes

Sainte-Honorine Herblay-sur- plateformes multimodales Montmorency Franconville Grands projets de l’ouest francilien

Achères Confluence Seine et Oise Axe Seine Sannois Chanteloup- Grand Centre & Campus les-Vignes Pôle métropolitain

Forêt de Pierrelaye Forêt de St Ceinture verte Germain-en-Laye Argenteuil

Sartrouville Gennevilliers nord La Seine 3 km

Hanaà Msallak Jobbé-Duval & Bastien Vernier - March 2020 CERGY-PONTOISE: Fifty years after its creation as a new town, Opportunities for reinvention(s), fields of natural, agricultural and forest areas still experimentation(s) represent 40% of its surface area. The original choice to limit urbanization on the banks of the A territory to the northwest of Grand Paris, Oise and to preserve the authentic setting of the Cergy-Pontoise is structured around a geographical former urban settlements (towns, villages) are all backbone: the River Oise (previously known by its elements that set this area apart as the “gateway” Latin name Isara). In the past, it was a strategic to the French Vexin Natural Park and metropolitan site for trade and defence, a former administrative Paris. boundary at the crossing of the Seine in Conflans- Sainte-Honorine, a popular holiday destination However, this same choice for an urbanization for metropolitans and a land of inspiration for the that was essentially concentrated on the agricultural Impressionist painters of the late 19th century. plateau raises questions about the possible future Then, in the 1970s, the New Towns programme for the area’s open expanses of land. What fate took the specific landscape features of the Oise’s awaits them in the face of the challenges of meanders to establish what would become Cergy- urban and economic pressure on the metropolis, Pontoise. the development of river transport and tourism as well as the International Campus project, Led by the State, the New Towns project was environmental risks and an identification as a designed to limit congestion in the hyper-centre so-called “Landscape City”? of metropolitan Paris through the creation of 5 peripheral urban centres (15-30 km away). Today, Mobility plans, integrated management and the conurbation of Cergy-Pontoise has nearly the safeguarding of green spaces and river banks, 205,000 inhabitants (compared to 45,000 in the urbanization mitigation policies, a territorial food 1970s). A young territory in which nearly 37% of plan and the event L’Oise en Fête are just some of the the population is under 25 years of age, it is one many concrete actions and initiatives that have been of the main employment (90,500 jobs and 20 launched. In order to reinforce this comprehensive business parks) and university (30,000 students, strategy, Cergy-Pontoise is currently redefining 15 establishments and 23 laboratories) hubs in its territorial development plan (SCOT). And for the capital region. many local stakeholders, they see the Oise playing an important role. 6 THE TERRITORY

Canau ChampagnePicardie RIVER LOGISTICS: CERGY-PONTOISE AT THE Oise Canal d 1,10 Mt Seine Nord CONFLUENCE OF THE

OISE AND THE SEINE

r No du anal 2,66 Mt C

PORT ANGOT LONGUEIL-STE-MARIE Cergy-Pontoise BRUYERES-SUR-OISE

Seine Aval CHALONS-EN-CHAMPAGNE

19,13 Mt Marne Voies à grand gabarit (1500t - 5000t) 1,89 Mt Voies à gabarit intermédiaire (400t - 1500t) EVRY Voies à petit gabarit (250t - 400t) Paris et canau NOGENT-SUR-SEINE BRAY-SUR-SEINE Voies non navigables ,52 Mt Réseau non VNF Principaux ports publics GRON onne Tendance par rapport à l’année précédente Seine Amont 1,35 Mt (en millions de tonnes manutentionnées) JOIGNY 7,51 Mt River transport and tourism: Key figures for the Seine Valley in 2017, VNF – April 2018 A GEOGRAPHY OF WATER AND BASSIN DE VIE FOR A MODEL RESILIENT CITY The Oise Valley

The Oise Valley and its 20,000 km² is part of The third most important river route in a larger river valley — that of the Seine and its , it recorded nearly 3 million tonnes of annual 80,000 km² surface area. Travelling a length of 341 freight in 2017. While it has been facing a drop in km, the River Oise begins its journey at an altitude freight traffic since the 1990s(due to the under- of 309 m in () before emptying into dimensioned size of its canalization upstream), the Seine in Conflans-Ste-Honorine at an elevation it still remains an active waterway downstream of 20 m. Observing an average flow of 110 m3/s, from Compiègne to Conflans-Ste-Honorine (100 it is shaped by gentle reliefs composed of a dozen km). The development and construction of new islands, about thirty small tributaries and streams, marinas as well as the desire to develop and resize wide plains, forest massifs and a few hillsides. the canals between Compiègne and northern France (the Canal Seine Nord Europe project) These geographical characteristics and the river’s are all part of a revival and intensification of river canalization (which was buried in the 19th century) navigation. What is the relationship between the give it definite advantages in terms of navigability, Oise and the Seine and what links can be made land circulation and the establishment of urban, with development strategies on a metropolitan industrial and agricultural activities. These specific scale? features, which are conducive to the development of various establishments, should not, however, In the Île-de-France, the Oise “Axis” structures undermine the important risks that are present: the northwestern part of metropolitan Paris and the risk of flooding, especially during winter rainy has been an integral part of the major development periods (where the flow can reach up to 700 m3/s) plans and intentions of the last century. The choice but also the risk of pollution and health hazards of location for some new towns and the proposals linked to farms (large cereal crops) and the urban for the Grand Paris of the 21st century have had the economy (industries, waste, construction). In this distinction of drawing on geographical singularities respect, the valley has one of the highest pollution and of reconsidering the role of water and its own rates in terms of its surface water. In 2019, more geographical landscape: examples include the than 50% was judged to be in a “mediocre” or Seine Valley, the Marne and along the curves of the “poor” state (DRIEE – Inventory 2019). Oise. What new value(s) does “water” have in a metropolitan area?

7 THE TERRITORY

URBAN INTENSITIES AND LIVED TERRITORIES Cergy-Pontoise

The 40 bassins de vies of the Grand Paris / Pôles-Réseaux-Territoires – Cabinet Devillers, 2010 From a bassin de vie to a bioregion

An attractive center… - With nearly 300,000 cultural venues, shops as well as sports and socio- inhabitants (205,000 for the urban agglomeration), cultural facilities. Nonetheless, they also reveal Cergy-Pontoise’s bassin de vie (a French term spatial discontinuities and disjointed lifestyles linked encompassing a population catchment area and its to different practices and visions.What effective area of influence, roughly translated as a living area) urban strategies integrating the River Oise can owes its dynamism and its home–work balance to be adopted to reveal the identity of this territory? the onsite presence of business parks, administrative functions, offices and universities (i.e. nearly 100,000 jobs and 30,000 students). The urban intensity is reflected by a rate of nearly 45% for home–work commutes within the bassin de vie, thus allowing for the development of a residential economy and local life. As for the remainder of the population, it commutes mainly towards Paris and the La Défense business district.

Urban attractiveness is characterized by a zone of influence (labour pool) that stretches from the Montmorency Valley to the Oise Valley and as far as the French Vexin (i.e. nearly 80,000 inhabitants) and the southern tip of the Oise Department (to the north). These elements attest to a certain vitality and are confirmed by an analysis of the number of establishments and frequency rates of restaurants, Banks of the Oise at the Axe Majeur, L. Pages – City of Cergy

8 THE TERRITORY

THE EIGHT BIOREGIONS OF THE ÎLE-DE-FRANCE IN 2050

Bioregion 2050: The Île-de-France post-collapse, Institut Momentum November 2019

… between the city and nature - Sitting on an realities before being delimited by administrative agricultural plateau at the very limit of the built boundaries. This approach is particularly relevant urban area of Paris, the territory is seen as a gateway at a time of diverse societal challenges, the to the west and the Parc Naturel Régional du Vexin increasing vulnerability of our globalized cities and Français; while to the east, it is separated from metropolises, major crises and the early stages of a the urbanized metropolitan continuity by the forward-looking reflection of a society that wants ecological corridor formed by the great forests to be carbon-free and resilient. Are we heading in the northwest of the Paris Region (see Plaine towards a new reorganization of rural localities de Pierrelaye project and PNR Oise Pays de France and the identification of a bioregion federated expansion); then, to the south and southwest, it is by the Oise? bordered by the Hautil Forest and the Seine Valley. How can the broader unity of the Oise be promoted What spatial translation(s) of a given the diversity of its uses? resilient development integrating One option is to consider that the Cergy-Pontoise risk prevention, a smaller carbon population catchment area and its area of influence footprint, a frugal approach and a possess the constituent elements of what many zero artificialization objective are theorists, from Patrick Geddes (biologist) to needed? Alberto Magnaghi (architect), call a “bioregion”; a territory that should be defined above all by its ecosystemic, geographical, human and landscape

8 9 THE TERRITORY

FROM NEW TOWN TO INTERNATIONAL CAMPUS: THE OISE FOR ALL

A shared heritage

The major decisions of past developments in the Paris urban area question the place of the human being in the metropolis, and many projects are now advocating a return to a scale that is more respectful of the perceptible geography, localities and soft mobility. The Banks of the Oise near Pontoise, 1877 – Camille Pissarro

From the cadastral organization of agricultural agricultural (Bois de Cergy and market-gardening land to the urbanization with its singular plain) components. geomorphology around a natural amphitheatre and passing through Auvers-sur-Oise, which ...between an inherited river patrimony... retraces the history of Impressionism, to Pontoise, Culturally rich through its urban and architectural a royal and medieval town labelled a “City of Art history, the Oise has been marked by the presence and History”, to the Axe Majeur (designed by of Impressionist painters in the 19th century and the sculptor Dani Karavan), the area enjoys a popular holiday villages in the 20th century. But remarkable natural landscape and a rich urban it is also economically rich, its past linked to the and architectural heritage. establishment of industrial activities and river navigation (made possible year-round since the Facing urban pressure, how can large tracts 19th century thanks to innovative engineering and of agricultural, natural and scenic areas be the creation of the first bargemen’s syndicate). recognized for their social and ecological value and not simply for their land and economic worth?

The curves of the River Oise... There are two main meanders, the first of which remains natural and is used mainly for recreation (Base de Loisirs, the green lung in the heart of the new town), leisure and tourism (Major Axis, Cergy Village and Port Aerial view of the Seine–Oise Confluence today – CCI Île-de-France Cergy); whereas the second is more urbanized (Grand Centre district) but also has natural and

...and an industrial valley west of Paris. The Seine– Oise Confluence is a point of contact between the Oise and Seine axis at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, its barges and the port of Achères on the other bank. The gateway to the sea tends to begin along the industrial valley of the Seine, west of Paris, and is based on the reinforcement of the port and multimodal platforms of Gennevilliers, Achères, Rouen and Le Havre. For its part, the Oise, at the heart of this network at the confluence with the Seine, is the subject of a project to increase the capacity of its canals north of Compiègne to create View on the Oise from the Hautil in 1960 - CACP links with northern European ports.

10 11 THE TERRITORY

THE «LANDSCAPE CITY» OF CERGY-PONTOISE

LEGENDE parc espace boisé espace d’accompagnement de l’Oise base de loisirs (étangs + parc terrestre) espace piétonnier voirie voie ferrée + gare terrasse point de vue A specific urban perspective à préserver échelle 1KM morphology Bertrand Warnier

The curves of the Oise have always set the tone In Cergy-Pontoise — a large, dispersed territory and shaped the urban and natural composition of ten times less dense than Paris — the question of the landscape, with new lines of communication mobility is key. The rail network (RER A, C and accompanying the development of the old lines J, L and H) and motorway network (A15 and towns of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, Pontoise the Francilienne) mark, structure and connect the and the surrounding agricultural villages. But territory to the rest of the metropolis. since 1969, the territory has been marked by a singular development set in the middle of Internally, the spatial organization is represented the agricultural plain: the creation of the New by a dense bus network (26 lines) linking the Town of Cergy-Pontoise. This project was to main railway stations (Cergy-Préfecture, Cergy- be the scene of a variety of developments subtly St-Christophe, Cergy-le-Haut, Pontoise, St- combining large open green spaces and a unique Ouen-l’Aumône and Neuville) and economic and architectural prowess; a contemporary heritage strategic sites in the area (business parks and with an innovative spirit for a diversified design. commercial zones). The preference by the original designers of the new town to separate soft mobility Various architectural competitions (Maisons de from motorized mobility is reflected by the city’s Ville in 1976, Immeubles de Ville in 1978) have been unique urban and infrastructural innovations and held for the city, and the question of housing has experiments: for example, the large pedestrian- always been essential. Today, the city, with its 83,000 only areas of the Prefecture or Les Touleuses, housing units (30% of which are social housing, 20% the “oversized” roads such as the Boulevard de private housing and 50% owner-occupied), offers a l’Oise (originally planned for 500,000 inhabitants) diversity of housing types (hamlet, village, old town, and the quality public spaces (which are almost suburban housing, large housing estates, collective exclusively dedicated to pedestrian and bicycle residences, etc.) and is experiencing a construction traffic, yet are not connected to the previous two rate similar to that of the original new town, i.e. examples and sometimes “under-used”). These nearly 2,000 housing units per year. public spaces are organized in a network of small

11 THE TERRITORY

squares, footbridges, alleyways and green spaces. what extent should the Axe Majeur, a significant They are open, numerous and largely designed in element of the built landscape and the physical relation to the geography of the city’s water. How entry point to the city and main access to the can urbanity on a human scale be imagined? Base de Loisirs, be taken into consideration and How can the proximity of the River Oise be integrated into the urban project? part of and contribute to the development of a comprehensive mobility plan featuring a Well orchestrated, all these elements can offer pleasant and intuitive intra-urban design? a unique human and urban experience and write a New town yesterday, campus town tomorrow new history for this area both near and far from Paris. Fifty years on and isolated from the Grand Paris project (excluded from the Grand Paris Express metro network), this former new town, where more than a third of the land has remained natural or agricultural, seems to be regenerating THE INTERNATIONAL CAMPUS PROJECT its existing urbanized areas. It is becoming denser, is questioning its future and is seeking to assert itself as a major metropolitan centre even beyond its borders, notably through the project to redevelop its historic Prefecture “Grand Centre” District, which has been underway since 2013. With nearly 80% of the area’s 30,000 students (40,000 by 2030) concentrated in this district, the ambition is reinforced and fuelled by the International Campus project: CY Cergy Paris University. When “C” stands for the curves of the River Oise and “Y” for the crossroads between the Oise and the Seine, the importance of the river in urban marketing strategies need no longer be questioned! Just look at the original emblem of the former new town or that of the City of Cergy! Plan guide 2017-2027 How Cabinet Devillers can the International Campus project be weaved into the urban fabric? Can the project exist in symbiosis with the Oise? How and in what ways?

Endowed with an ecosystem of multiple socio- economic actors; important and influential sports, cultural and socio-cultural facilities (the Base de Loisirs, the Aren’Ice, the national theatre, etc.); a What socio-economic structuring built heritage; emblematic tourist sites and places such as the Axe Majeur; the territory boasts function(s) can the Oise play? enormous potential for creating a strong identity connected to the Oise. The Avenue Verte cycle route What role can it play in a productive linking Paris to London via Cergy and the Vexin economy, in attractiveness or Pontoise and the Oise Valley; the legacy of the great Impressionists Pissarro, Van Gogh, Thornley strategies, and in the image and and Sisley; and the stories of great travellers such development of the region? as Stevenson, who took a boat down the Oise from Antwerp to Pontoise only support this assertion! To

12 13 THE USERS

COLLECTIVE IMAGINATION & CONVERGING VIEWS

This workshop focuses on putting uses and users in times of crisis. Why? What if nature could be a back at the heart of discussions. Whether they are saviour? everyday users, mobile users or users simply passing through, all of them have an expertise in Water: Balancing risk and well-being the practice of the territory, a unique perspective, interest, awareness and experience. Today, flooding, the decline in plant and animal biodiversity, the increase in impervious In Cergy-Pontoise, the presence of natural surfaces and the shrinking of towpaths are all elements — largely embodied by the River Oise, contributing to the weakening of the river’s its geography and sheer size — seems to be a banks. And it is the local governments that have privilege, a preserved but fragile asset that other to undertake reinforcement work or, sometimes, highly urbanized areas do not or no longer possess. pre-empt private land purchases to protect the Therefore, if the notion of happiness resides in population and the banks (e.g. Cergy, Jouy-le- the possibility of having access to a green space Moutier). Alternatively, there are also so-called less than 500 m from one’s home, then in this “eco-neighbourhood” urbanization projects that “great landscape” shaped by water is there not promote the “well-being” value of water to offer the possibility of creating a happy fringe area in new urban experiences. These urban developments tangent with the new desire towards “counter- are not always welcome and may raise questions urbanization”? about the extent to which risks are really taken into account and the level of acceptance by the already Nature and the environment occupy a established resident populations. What economic primordial place in our different cultures. The and urban value can water have in the city? questioning of perceptions and practices around What way(s) can the Oise and its wide meanders water in our relationship to space and in our be used to dynamize the city and the lives of its individual and collective choices, consciousness inhabitants? and unconsciousness will fuel the debates and introspections of this 38th workshop session. Often How can the development process in search of refuge or a pleasant living environment for the urban project be questioned and being part of a mobile and increasingly nomadic society, we move or opt for certain types in order to further the objectives of of residential trajectories or flee to the countryside participation and co-creation?

Esplanade de Paris and view of the Île-de-France Region – Association Axe Majeur

13 THE USERS

“Salsa Domingo”, Summer Sunday gatherings on the quays of the Pothuis in Pontoise – Le Parisien

A servile nature as examples, Cergy-Pontoise offers a myriad of possibilities for the expression and manifestation Like many other territories, natural areas are of uses, informal practices and alternative modes of subject to the negative impacts of human activities living. It is already home to homeless squats, street and urban growth. In the area of study and its art under motorway and railway bridges as well as surroundings, such manifestations are increasingly informal campsites set up by travellers; neglected visible: agricultural areas where waste from the pontoons where people come to socialize, smoke metropolis is dumped and open-air rubbish heaps shisha or drink beer; barbecues held on the banks (nearly half or two-thirds of the total volume of of the river or at the Base de Loisirs; festive places the 300 sites listed in the Val d’Oise come from like the Neuville Quarries, the lake or under the construction sites). Another phenomenon, river Axe Majeur bridge were undeclared parties are logistics and the lack of land in the heart of the held; outdoor spaces to run, walk, pedal, stroll with metropolis, is pushing developers and economic the family, read a book, take a nap, fish, practice actors to develop riverside logistics platforms. tai chi, Zumba, yoga, CrossFit... and even sites for What types of activities could reconcile creative and artistic expression along the Esplanade human presence with a consideration for the de Paris overlooking the River Oise. area’s specific landscape features? How can spontaneous informal uses be taken into account for a harmonious and balanced development of How can the relationship between a “water city”? the city, its users and water Living differently be reinvented? How can users reappropriate the shared space In Cergy-Pontoise, water’s presence in around the water? How can town is unique. Although the “amphitheatre” mobility be supported and links be structure of the city converges towards the Oise, forged between this former new perceptions and practices of the urban space seem disconnected from the river and water in general. town set on the plateau with its The city’s greenery, itself, has developed in a various centralities and the banks mostly informal and free way. Taking some isolated of the River Oise? urban wastelands, interstices and neglected areas

14 THE WORKSHOP IN 5 SECTIONS

MOVING TO THE FLOW OF THE RIVER OISE HOW RIVER OISE COULD DYNAMISE THE CITY(LIFE) OF CERGY-PONTOISE?

Hanaà Msallak Jobbé-Duval & Bastien Vernier - April 2020

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